For many agricultural crops, it is desirable that the produce be available to the user in a condition of optimum freshness. In other words, ideally, the produce is harvested at a point in its maturity when it is ready for use or consumption, and it is delivered from the farm to the end user with as little degradation of quality as possible. Since in many cases, the distance from the farm to the end user can be significant, or the harvested crop is intended for use at a later date, techniques are employed to preserve freshness for the trip or for storage.
In one example, produce can sometimes be harvested prior to its full maturity. If possible, the produce may mature during the delivery to the end user, with the goal that the produce will arrive at the destination in a near-ready state. The timing can be problematic when the produce is destined for some end users that are situated relatively nearby, others that are situated very distant, and many end users that are situated somewhere in between. Generally, due to some averaging, all or most of the end users may receive a product that is not optimally mature, and few or none of the end users may receive a product at its peak freshness. Additionally, there are many types of produce that will not mature well after harvesting, and will decompose instead, resulting in an unusable product.
In another example, produce can sometimes be harvested at a point nearer to maturity, and be processed to slow decomposition during delivery or for storage. Processing may include freezing, cooling, drying, and the like. The processed produce may then be packaged to maintain the produce in the processed state for delivery or storage. For produce that can withstand it, freezing can often result in produce arriving at a distant destination in a satisfactory condition. For other produce, drying or cooling may be a better option.
For instance, a harvested crop may be arranged in the field, or disposed in a more convenient location, for drying. Field drying is relatively inexpensive but can take a longer time than is convenient. Additionally, the harvested crop is potentially exposed to rain or other natural and man-made elements that can harm the crop. The harvested crop can be dried quicker and in a more protected environment within a drying chamber or machine. However, some machine drying can be much more expensive, due to the energy needed to dry large amounts of produce. This can also be true for many cooling processes, which can take a great amount of energy to cool large amounts of produce to a desired temperature.